Recommissioning unwanted canines

Keith Jennings, Potpourri Contributing Writer

Published 7:00 pm, Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Kay Resources is owned and operated by Houston Police Department officer Danny Kay and his wife Peggy, also a former HPD officer. While they have offered security services to Houston-area businesses for more than 16 years, the couple began providing dog training services in 2004.

Danny has spent more than 23 years working for the HPD Explosives Detection Canine Unit, and has extensive experience working and training dogs for use in schools and high-security situations. He has supplied dogs to the military as well as to other law enforcement agencies.

Due to the small percentage of dogs that are identified as suitable candidates for this type of work, frequent searching and testing is a necessity before actual training can even begin. Danny and Peggy often scour animal shelters in hopes that a new candidate can be found.

"We are always looking for candidates, but only about 1 percent of the dogs pass the preliminary tests," Peggy said. "This is one of the more challenging parts of our business."

Many canine prospects surface after their owners realize the considerable amount of time and responsibility required to take care of a pet. Many of these dogs have become accustomed to the comfortable family lifestyle and are no longer capable of passing the rigorous training program.

As a result, finding a match becomes a time-consuming endeavor. When a suitable dog is found, identifying its particular strengths and personality traits is critical in order to ensure the animal will be successful. During a recent training session at a Willowbrook area warehouse, the Kays worked with a 4-year-old yellow lab named Taz. The animal was recently picked up from a Galveston County Shelter.

"No two dogs are alike and you never know how they're going to respond," Danny explained. "Many of these dogs have lost some of their natural instincts due to improper breeding and caretaking and do not respond to training."

The various types of training can include narcotics detection as well as training to detect explosives, tobacco, alcohol, and other special items like fruit and food products. With national security being at such a heightened state of alert in the war on terrorism, Danny said producing highly-trained dogs is a necessity.

In the case of the military dogs, Danny and Peggy normally identify suitable candidates through a series of preliminary tests.

Once the animal has performed to their satisfaction, the dog is then delivered to the military for a specific military training program. In the case of schools or other law enforcement agencies, the couple generally will conduct all the training and deliver the dogs ready for work. To those animals who become successfully trained, their detection work becomes more fun and games than work and they enjoy being out.

"To the dog, they're just having fun doing a job. That's when you know it's working," Danny explained.

The actual training program starts with some preliminary testing as simple as playing fetch. If the animal gets excited and is eager to retrieve and play, it may be a good candidate.

"We then proceed by gradually increasing their training time and put them in different environments like warehouses, schools, and office buildings," Danny said. "This helps them get used to the different situations they may encounter."

Once the dog successfully completes the entire program, it is then transferred to the client to begin working. Clients include local law enforcement, federal agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration, and school districts. In many cases, a client may not be able to purchase the dog, but requests detection services on a contract basis.